Rev. Dr Evans Onyemara, general secretary of the Christian Council of Nigeria, attended the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee meeting from 8-14 November in Abuja, Nigeria. He took time to reflect on accomplishments and challenges in his country, and why he’s grateful for the presence of the WCC.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay congratulated Rt. Rev. Chituku-Neshangwe, from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa (UPCSA), the new president of All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC).
The All Africa Conference of Churches will convene its Twelfth General Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria, from 18-23 November under the theme “The Love of Christ Compels us…”
Members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee visited an array of churches in Nigeria on 12 November, bringing a deep spiritual aspect to their gathering, taking place in Abuja from 8-14 November.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed grave concern about the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan, and urged an end to hostilities.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) conveyed congratulations to His Eminence Ekpenyong Akpanika upon his installation as the prelate and moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca conveyed sincere congratulations to Most Rev. Julius Olayinka Osayand Abbe upon his appointment and enthronement as the Primate of The Africa Church.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca extended greetings on behalf of the global fellowship to the Christian Council of Nigeria as it held its 31st Triennial Assembly and marked its 93rd anniversary at the Basilica of St Andrew in Enugu, Nigeria from 23-26 November.
In a statement, the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee affirmed its support for the churches of Sudan in their witness and ministry. The statement welcomed an ecumenical solidarity visit to Sudan on 20-25 April undertaken jointly by the WCC, All Africa Conference of Churches, and Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa.
At an online roundtable hosted by the All Africa Conference of Churches, male “champions for gender justice” shared their ideas and insights during their yearlong service as men who are helping to prevent gender-based violence.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed the revulsion of the global fellowship of churches at the murder of Deborah Yakubu, a second-year college student beaten to death and burnt by a group of her fellow students in Sokoto, northern Nigeria.
The churches of Sudan – and especially the Sudan Council of Churches as their ecumenical forum – have suffered from a serious lack of attention and support by international ecumenical partners since the separation of South Sudan in 2011.
To accompany the churches and people of Sudan in the midst of significant changes and challenges in the country, a delegation of World Council of Churches (WCC) along with its ecumenical partners is undertaking an ecumenical solidarity visit to Sudan.
As churches and other groups battle sexual and gender-based violence, it is urgent to include men in trainings and amplify the issues for global accompaniment and support, church women leaders, lay members and gender advocates recommended at a recent church human rights training in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
Many women and girls are still struggling to attain their fundamental human rights, despite churches and the systems of the world affirming the equality of men and women, a church human rights training for young women and girls in Nigeria heard recently.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the death of Ibraheem Garba, co-director of International Centre for Interfaith Peace and Harmony in Nigeria. He died in a car accident in Nigeria as he was travelling for work-related reasons between Kaduna and Abuja.
In the years since it was founded in 2016, the International Centre for Inter-Faith Peace and Harmony in Kaduna, Nigeria has been building a cadre of peacemakers who are witnesses to inter-religious peace and harmony. It also continues to serve as a physical symbol helping Muslims and Christians work together more effectively.
As children and women in Nigeria become targets of rising insecurity and violence, churches are moving to offer support to the victims, while amplifying their voice against the challenge, according to senior Christian women leaders in the West African nation.
Damaris, a Nigerian woman, described her experience of 2020: “We’ve gone through hell.”
Damaris and her sisters were kidnapped in March 2020 and threatened with death as their kidnappers demanded money. Her father had to sell everything and beg on the streets to meet their demands. “We are just a common people in Nigeria,” she said. “We don’t know what we did.”